Taylor Swift says DJ subjected her to long, ‘horrifying’ grope

DENVER (Reuters) – Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Taylor Swift testified on Thursday she was subjected to a “very long” and “intentional” grope by a Colorado disc jockey who appeared to be drunk during a photo session four years ago.

The 27-year-old pop star was testifying for the first time for a U.S. District Court jury weighing her accusation that David Mueller grabbed her bare buttocks during a pre-concert fan reception in 2013 against Mueller’s assertion that she falsely accused him and then got him fired.

Swift – one of America’s most successful recording artists, whose hits include “Fearless” and “Fifteen” – spoke forcefully under questioning by Mueller’s attorney, Gabriel McFarland. She said several times, “Your client grabbed my ass,” at one point calling it a “devious and sneaky act.”

“It was a definite grab … a very long grab,” she said. “It was intentional. He stayed latched onto my bare ass cheek. I felt him grab onto my ass cheek under my skirt.”

Mueller, 55, testified on Tuesday that he may have made innocent contact with Swift but denied any inappropriate behavior. Asked if he grabbed her backside, the former disc jockey for Denver radio station KYGO-FM replied, “No, I did not.”

Swift spent an hour on the witness stand on Thursday and said it appeared both Mueller and his girlfriend, who stood on the other side of her for the photo, had “had a few cocktails.”

The photograph, repeatedly displayed in court, shows the pop star in a black skirt and top, flanked by Mueller and his girlfriend, all three smiling for the camera. Mueller has his right hand concealed behind her rear end, and Swift appears to have shifted her hip slightly away from him.

Asked by McFarland why her bodyguard did not step in when “this big drunk guy” groped her, Swift replied: “No one could have expected this to happen. … It had never happened before. It was horrifying and shocking.”

‘That’s Him’

Swift also sharply denied McFarland’s suggestion that Mueller was the victim of mistaken identity. “He had a handful of my ass. I know it was him,” she fired back.

The legal team and other Taylor Swift staff including publicist Tree Paine (2nd L) arrive at Denver Federal Court where the Taylor Swift groping trial jury selection was to resume in Denver, U.S., August 8, 2017.Rick Wilking

Swift’s account was backed by subsequent testimony from her photographer, Stephanie Simbeck, who recalled seeing Mueller “put his hand on (Swift’s) butt” through the camera’s…